Saving Kale
by YoursTruly319
Summary: After his breakup with Rose, Adrian decided to never again have a serious relationship and put his heart out there ... until he met Beck Ramsey, that is, a shadow kissed, fire wielding enigmatic Dhampir with some major 'tude. Beck and Adrian are perfect together, but both are too stubborn by half to admit it. Will Adrian get the happily ever after that Rose and Dimitri got?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is my first FanFic (usually I just make up endings for books that I've read!) so please review and tell me what you think!**

Three Years Ago

"I don't _want_ to switch schools!" I whined. What was so great about this St Vladimir's place, anyways? What was wrong with my current school, St Sergius Academy?

"I think that it will be good for you two." Dad said, ignoring my tone. "After all, Guardian Hathaway and Queen Vasilisa went there. St Vladimir's is well known for being ahead of the game in the spirit department."

My half-brother, Kale, was a spirit user, like Queen Vasilisa was. After the new Queen of the Vampires had taken her throne a year ago, one of her first orders as Queen had been to start exploring the newly discovered spirit. Her old school, St Vladimir's, had the most spirit users in residence than any other school, and, according to Dad, was the best place to be for a spirit user like Kale.

Why was I going, you ask? Because a), wherever Kale went I went (we were closer than twins, having been raised together and being only eight months apart in age) and b), Kale and I were like Guardian Hathaway and Queen Vasilisa had been.

We were bonded.

For years after it happened (we'd been bonded since Kale and I were nine, when Strigoi had attacked our estate and I had decided to play Guardian and had very nearly died until Kale pulled me back), no one had had any idea what was going on. Dad kept it very hush hush, and Kale and I weren't allowed to speak of it, not even to each other.

But in the last year and a half (since the official discovery of spirit) things had been coming out of the closet. It wasn't very well known that Kale and I were bonded, but it wasn't a dark secret anymore, for which I was a little grateful (grateful because Kale knew what he had specialized in now) and a little wary (wary because no one knew just what was going to come of discovering spirit and tossing it out there in the open).

"I don't care." I snapped in response to Dad's answer. "I'm not going to leave my friends when St Vladimir's isn't any better than St Sergius. C'mon, Dad. You really think that they'll be able to deal with me too?"

I was a fire wielder. I'd been ever since I was little and things spontaneously caught fire when I got angry. As the years had passed, I'd gained more control over my abilities (I still had a ways to go, mind you).

There was only one problem – I was a Dhampir.

Dad sighed heavily. My ability to control fire and thus Moroi magic baffled Dad as much as the rest of us. And, since I'd been able to do it since I was little, there was no way that it was linked to Kale's spirit and the fact that we were bonded.

"Maybe they'll be able to figure it out, Beck." Dad said quietly. He wanted answers as much as I did, except where he pursued them I'd come to accept who I was and what I could do and no longer thirsted for explanations.

I just shrugged. "I'm not leaving my friends." I insisted stubbornly.

"It's what's best for Kale, Beck." Damn – he had me there and he knew it, that jerk. I'd do anything if it was what was best for Kale. And even I had to admit that St Vladimir's and the promises it offered on the spirit front would be better for Kale than staying at St Sergius' just so that I didn't have to make new friends.

I sighed heavily. "Fine! I'll go." Annoyed at the smug expression on his face now that he had won, I added in a grumble, "But I'm not happy about it."

I might as well have been talking to a brick wall, because Dad was already making the preparations in his mind.

Great.


	2. Chapter 2

Present Day

Rose

There had been yet another major Strigoi attack, and I was convinced that there was a connection between it and the previous two. For the last few years the Strigoi had been attacking in groups, and they had been damn organized.

It'd gotten even worse since Liss had passed laws decreeing that Moroi combat classes would begin to be electives for Moroi teenagers at their schools, and that defensive magic would begin to be taught so that Moroi could fight the Strigoi too.

There were definitely mixed reactions to this; some Moroi were thrilled, some were peed, and others were undecided. Dhampirs like me, however, were both elated and amused (c'mon – watching Moroi learn to fight is _hilarious_ – some of them are just so bad at it!).

Lissa, however, didn't give two craps about disgruntled old farts like Rufus Tarus and Henry Drozdov.

She had had to tone down her reformation when attempts were made on her life, though. So for now the self defense courses weren't mandatory, and Moroi who fought with Dhampirs against the Strigoi were rare (not as obsolete as they had been before Liss' rule, but still uncommon).

The only time that Liss had wavered in her resolve to change things was when Jill had been killed. Without another family member, Liss technically couldn't rule.

It had been Abe's quick thinking that had saved us, when he announced soon after Jill's death that Lissa was pregnant. I don't know how Liss managed to be so calm, but soon enough she was pregnant for real.

She and Christian had two little girls now, Tania (age three) and Lara (age one). I hated that Liss had had to become a mother at the age of nineteen because I hadn't been there to protect Jill, but Lissa had taken it all in stride and was an amazing mother. To her enemies' chagrin Jill's murder hadn't destroyed her resolution – instead it had strengthened it. Liss had told me that she would continue with her reforms and, if she ever doubted, she would think of Jill and her half-sister's sacrifice.

The only way to get Liss legally off of the throne now was to kill her two little girls, and even heartless killers like the people behind Jill's murder knew that doing away with a toddler and a baby would cause public outrage and result in support flooding in for Liss.

There hadn't been an attempt or plan on Lissa's life for over a year now, and for that I was grateful.

But these new Strigoi attacks that seemed to be targeting spirit users had me worried. Liss had put plans for Moroi to fight on the backburner and was instead focusing on exploring spirit and what it entailed. Fewer people objected to this new element. They found it far less threatening than them being asked to pitch in and help fight the Strigoi who, I might add, wanted the Moroi, not the Dhampirs who fought them.

What got me about these recent Strigoi attacks was that I wasn't completely sure that it was only the Strigoi responsible. Could Moroi be teaming up with our enemies to sabotage Lissa's reign? Would they dare?

Would they really stoop that low? I had to talk to Dimitri about this.

My kick butt guardian boyfriend listened patiently while I explained my theory before shaking his head slowly.

"No, Rosa. Strigoi wouldn't work with Moroi." Having been a Strigoi himself, Dimitri knew what he was talking about. "If Strigoi were involved in the attack then it was them and them alone who engineered it."

"Do you think that the Strigoi are purposefully killing spirit users?" I was thinking aloud here. "I mean, these recent attacks have a pattern – more of a pattern than I've ever seen before. Could the Strigoi want the spirit users dead for a reason?"

Dimitri nodded slowly. "It's possible. Random attacks would not be as organized as these last few have been."

I rubbed a tired hand over my face. "Do I have to kick _everyone_ _single person's_ butt before they come to their senses and realize that Liss is the best thing to have ever happened to the monarchy?"

Dimitri chuckled as he pulled me into a _very_ unprofessional embrace (we were still technically on duty, though this pretty much involved playing cards and chatting in Liss' parlour while she and Christian had 'alone time').

"I have a feeling that you'd enjoy that too much, Rosa."

Yeah – probably.


	3. Chapter 3

Beck

"I can't wait to graduate." Cole confided in me as we sat at our cafeteria table waiting for the others to appear. "I can't wait to get out there and start fighting Strigoi."

I nodded distractedly, only listening with half an ear.

"Beck? Hellloooo, earth to the Beckster?" Cole flicked me and I jumped.

"Ow!" I protested, glaring at him.

"What's going in that pretty head of yours, Ramsey?" Cole demanded. "You've been off ever since you got back from Europe."

A year ago I'd gone into a spirit induced murder spree and headed for Europe to go slay Strigoi. Kale and I had been out on the town with Dad's guardian one day when two Strigoi ambushed us. The guardian was seriously wounded, and it was only because of my major freak out that he didn't die. After that I swore that I would kill every Strigoi out there and escaped from the academy to go on my killing spree.

After the number of kills had surpassed twenty I'd stopped counting. That had been four months into my 'excursion', as Dad referred to it.

A month ago Kale had finally managed to track me down and helped me expel some of the spirit darkness and had convinced me to come back to St Vladimir's.

Kale had decided to stop experimenting altogether (my murder spree had fed off of the spirit side effects even when I was in Europe) and was successfully suppressing spirit, something that made me breath majorly easier.

I was, however, majorly behind in the school department, heaving been gone for almost eleven months. Even with the extra tutoring that Dad had set up, it'd be a miracle if I graduated with Kale and the others.

Cole and my other friends didn't know just what I'd been up to in Europe, but word had gotten out (damn Alchemists) that I'd been in Europe killing Strigoi, even though I refused to talk about it.

My friends wanted to be just like me now and go out and slaughter Strigoi, but I had a major advantage, what with my fire wielding abilities. I could set Strigoi on fire and then finish them off with my stake. Rumour had it that that was how Guardian Hathaway and King Christian had fought off the Strigoi who had attacked St Vladimir's when they'd still been students here.

Cole was still staring at me, expecting an answer, but I was saved from providing one when Loa, Bay and Greg joined us.

"Did you guys hear?" Loa demanded breathlessly, her face alight. Loa was gorgeous, with her killer curves and bright eyes. Even though I was a Dhampir like Loa, I didn't have curves like that – I was shaped more like a Moroi than a Dhampir.

"Hear what?" Cole asked, forgetting about pressing me for a response and turning to Loa.

"Queen Vasilisa's coming here, to St Vladimir's!" Loa burst out, grinning like a madwoman. "And she's bringing Guardian Hathaway with her!"

"Rose Hathaway is coming _here_?" Nyx slid in beside me as she gasped in awe. "_The_ Guardian Rosemarie Hathaway?"

Loa nodded excitedly. "The one and only." She confirmed.

"Why?" I asked. Did the Queen's best friend and most skilled guardian have better things to do than visit with some teenagers?

Loa turned to me before answering, "The Queen's coming to talk to the Moroi and Guardian Hathaway is coming to inspect us future guardians. Can you believe it, guys? We get to meet Rose Hathaway!"

Rosemarie Hathaway was a major celebrity around here – like Brad Pitt and George Clooney rolled into one, with a little Scarlett Johansson thrown in there too (girls wanted to be her and boys were instantly in love).

Loa launched into a long winded listing of all of Guardian Hathaway's accomplishments (which we all knew already, of course), and I tuned out.

A tug in the back of my mind alerted me to Kale's presence. My big bro hated that I could slip into his mind sometimes, so I tried not to do it unless strictly necessary. So I resisted the tug and pretended to listen to Loa's rambling while Kale grabbed a juice box and apple and headed for our table.

He slid in beside me quietly while Loa and Greg debated whether Guardian Hathaway had killed Victor Dashkov on purpose to rid the world of filth like him or whether it had been an accident.

Bay – kay, technically his name was Bradley, but Nyx told me that he'd been called Bay since kindergarten – was the only one who noticed Kale's arrival. Bay and Kale were a lot alike; both quiet and strong. Out of all of my friends, I had to admit that I liked Bay the best. Bay and Lennon were my closest friends (Lennon Crawford's parents were obsessed with John Lennon and had decided to name their only child after their icon/hero), though I guess you could say that Nyx and I were close too.

Loa and Greg's argument was just beginning to escalate to a yelling match when a snide voice cut through it.

"Hey, Beck, I heard that you went to Europe to be a blood whore but you were too flat for their tastes!"

I gritted my teeth and resisted the urge to kill Maxim Zeklos (though I did briefly seriously entertain the thought of setting him on fire . . .) and instead ignored the snickers that his friends let loose.

"Were you at your betters' _beck_ and call, Ramsey?" More sneers and snotty laughs. C'mon – the joke wasn't even that good.

"Back off, Zeklos!" Cole shot to his feet, eyes shooting daggers at Maxim. "Before I introduce your _face_ to my _fist_."

Maxim sneered at Cole. "Lay a hand on me, Appleton, and it'll be the last thing that you ever do at this school."

"Maxim's just frustrated." I piped up, unable to resist. When Maxim turned to look at me, I explained, "After all, being turned down _again and again_ can be rather exhausting, eh, Zeklos?"

Maxim and I had actually used to date back when Kale and I'd first transferred to St Vlad's. I'd broken up with him soon after and, when he'd caused a public scene about it, I hadn't held back. I'd told him loud and clear that he was a jack off and such a bad kisser that I'd been scared to find out just how bad a person could be in the sack (we hadn't slept together).

Maxim had hated my guts ever since.

My ex turned a rather interesting shade of red before stomping off, leaving me a tad disappointed. Usually Maxim put up a bit more of a fight, and tearing him down was a good deal more prolonged and satisfying (ha! Dirty thoughts there. Maxim wished he could prolong certain other things and satisfy a woman . . . okay, okay! I'll behave.).

"Little snot." Cole muttered under his breath and Maxim and his posse retreated, settling back into his seat.

Nyx shook her head after Maxim in disgust. "He's not even worth it, Cole."

Deciding it was time to change the subject, I asked, "Hey, where's Arbor?" Arbor was the seventh and final member of our crew (not including Kale and myself).

Greg shrugged. "Probably still with Ms Carmack, working on her control."

Greg, Arbor, Kale and Nyx were Moroi while Bay, Lennon, Cole, Loa and I were Dhampirs. Since we were so close to graduation Arbor had been working on her speciality – spirit – with Ms Carmack even more.

Besides Arbor and Kale, there were five other spirit users at St Vladimir's. We had by far the highest number out there.

Ms Carmack was pretty much the only teacher here (I didn't count Headmistress Kirova as a teacher, nor the head guardian, James Carleton – aka Carleton or Jameson, though the latter was never said to his face) who knew what had happened to me during the Europe spree (Kale had been forced to explain to his favourite teacher why he'd given up using spirit, cause Kirova deemed Ms Carmack on the list of people who needed to know).

I felt a slight twinge from Kale at that – I knew that he missed spirit, and I'd told him more than once since my return to flush those little pills that he took to keep his specialty at bay. He just kept refusing, though, saying that he wasn't going to hurt me.

Wasn't _I_ supposed to be the guardian here?

We were literally days away from our trials and graduation (for the guarding exercise Kirova had bent the rules and just let me stick by Kale for a few days, seemingly assured that, if we _had_ been attacked, I would have responded appropriately).

The Queen's visit was scheduled for a few days before the trials, and it was all that my friends could talk about.

I too was excited to meet Queen Vasilisa and Guardian Hathaway, but I kept my excitement under wraps, even when it became known that King Christian and Guardian Belikov would be joining the party.


End file.
